famil focus

Score4Kids

Tough times for one family adds
up to helping others.

Jessica Naiman

how Score4Kids was born.
Today, Score4Kids is a registered nonprofit orga-
nization that collects and distributes gently used
sports equipment to any kid in need, including
basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, football, roll-
erblading, snowboarding, skiing and golf gear. It's
quickly gaining traction by filling an important, but
often neglected, need in the Jewish community and
beyond: The need to help parents, schools and camps
get and keep their kids involved in organized sports,
despite the often steep prices involved.
"Sometimes we'll dress an entire kid in hockey
gear from head to toe," Schultz says. Score4Kids
will even help pay registration fees for classes and
leagues.
"Karen is a wonderful person who really needs the
support from community members; she has the right
cause says Ali Sayed of H.Y.P.E Athletics, a local orga-
nization that provides athletic and social services to
at-risk youth and low-income families and is currently
building a new recreation center in Dearborn Heights
and partnering with Score4Kids.
H.Y.P.E. headquarters will be a drop-off location for

Special to the Jewish News

I

n 2009, Karen Schultz lost her job and had to cut
yoga from her schedule to stay financially afloat and
care for sons Jonah and Jake. Her lucrative job at
Washington Mutual had vanished practically overnight,
along with the entire company, leaving the single mom
not only bewildered but, without her yoga, also sluggish
and unmotivated.
Karen wasn't the only one feeling the pinch: Jonah
and Jake, today ages 11 and 13, had to give up hockey;
the cost was just too much for the then-Huntington
Woods mom to absorb. It was during that difficult time
that an idea sprouted amongst the three of them.
"I was telling my sons I need to do something to keep
busy," says Schultz, a member of Temple Israel, who now
lives in Bloomfield Hills with the boys. "My son said,
`Why don't we just do something with sports, like give
kids equipment that doesn't fit us anymore?'"
So they held a two-day sports equipment drive and
managed to fill an entire truck to the brim, and that's

au

ICHIGAN

TAs,14m

133rd

season

Karen Schultz, with her sons, Jonah, 11, and Jake, 13, cre-

ated a nonprofit called Score4Kids that distributes gently

used sports equipment to kids in need. They were honored

at a recent Detroit Pistons game.

Score4Kids, which, in turn, is helping collect classroom
and office furniture for H.Y.P.E.'s new location.
The strategy is part of Schultz's plan to expand
Score4Kids into a powerhouse charity that can employ
local talent and spread the message of giving to chil-

Score4Kids on page 47

urns 11/12

[gamy

American Mavericks

Michael Tilson Thomas conductor

Featuring: Paul Jacobs organ I Jeremy Denk piano

Mason Bates electronica I Jessye Norman soprano
Joan LaBarbara & Meredith Monk vocalists
St. Lawrence String Quartet I Emanuel Ax piano
Kiera Duffy soprano I U - M Chamber Choir Jerry Blackstone director

Thursday-Sunday \

March 22-25

Hill Auditorium & Rackham Auditorium \ Ann Arbor

As part of its centennial season, Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony

will present the second American Mavericks Festival, which will tour in its entirety to

only two US venues: Hill Auditorium and Carnegie Hall. The 2012 festival celebrates the
creative pioneering spirit and the composers who created a new American musical voice

for the 20th century and beyond. Complete program details available at www.ums.org .

Presented with major support from the Creative Ventures Leadership Fund.

The Saturday concert is sponsored by the Medical Community Endowment Fund.

Funded in part by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation,

and the National Endowment for the Arts. Art Works.

Media Partners WGTE 91.3 FM, Ann Arbor's 107one, WDET 101.9 FM, and Detroit Jewish News.

= urns Call or click for tickets! 734.764.2538 \

Hours: Mon-Fri: 9 am to 5 pm, Sot: 10 am to 1 pm

www.ums.org

.

March 15 . 2012

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